The Literary Wineaux Society

Hello Wineauxs!
We're taking flight again and we are returning to France, the Beaujolais region. It's the perfect time of year for the quintessential Thanksgiving wine.

November's Book Club Theme is....First Lines.

To me, the most important part of the novel is the very first chapter, the first page, the first paragraph, the first line. The beginning of a novel should set the tone for the rest of the story and, from the first line, establish the voice of the character or a compelling narrative.

At our September Book Club meeting, we read the first paragraphs of seven novels without knowing the title and each voted on one we would like to continue to read further. We announced the winner at the meeting and it's 'Finding Grace'...by Loretta Rothschild.

First Lines of the novel: The last time we were at the Ritz in Paris I had my fifth marriage at breakfast. This Christmas, I was no longer in contention for the same bizarre privilege. Now that I'd have my ovaries confiscated by my doctor, I found myself oscillating between staring at my husband and daughter adoringly and wondering how long it would take to drown myself in the Seine. It had become an unwritten family tradition that we always came to the Ritz for Christmas. This year as we drove to the hotel, with the moon beside us -- a fine lick of chrome in an upside-down crescent -- the driver pointed out landmarks I already knew well. I nodded, feigning interest before cutting him off to ask if he had a Motorola phone charger.

ABOUT FINDING GRACE
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A July Indie Next Pick • "A strikingly original and deeply moving debut." ―People • "Begins with such a gasp-inducing twist that it's almost impossible to describe." ―Real Simple • "The literary book of the summer." ―Sarah Gelman, CBS Mornings

SHE THOUGHT IT WAS FATE. I KNEW IT WASN'T....

Honor seems to have everything: she adores her bright and beautiful daughter, Chloe, and her charming, handsome husband, Tom, even if he works one hundred hours a week. Yet Honor’s longing for another baby threatens to eclipse all of it―until a shocking event changes their lives forever. Years later, Tom makes a decision that ripples through their families' lives in ways he could never have foreseen. As the consequences of that fateful choice unfold, two women's paths become irrevocably intertwined. But when old love clashes with new, who will be left standing? And what happens when your secrets come back to haunt you?
Blending a page-turning moral dilemma with satisfying emotional poignancy, Finding Grace is a sweeping love story that explores the price of a new beginning, how the ghosts of our past shape our future, and whether redemption can be found in the wreckage of what we've lost.

Our Buzz Books and Bubbles book for November is....

'The Correspondent' by Virginia Evans

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Discover the word-of-mouth hit hailed by Ann Patchett as “A cause for celebration”—an intimate novel about the transformative power of the written word and the beauty of slowing down to reconnect with the people we love.

“Masterful is the pace at which Evans fills in the blanks of her protagonist’s life.”—Frank Bruni, The New York Times

“I cried more than once as I witnessed this brilliant woman come to understand herself more deeply.”—Florence Knapp, author of The Names

LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE AND THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • A PBS TOP SUMMER BOOK • LIBRARYREADS PICK OF THE MONTH

“Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle. . . . Isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way, that this very letter may one day mean something, even if it is a very small thing, to someone?”

Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Hello Swans!

It's time for another meeting of the minds to discuss a long-form article that's buzzing in the news today. Just seven swan spots are open for this coveted group.